# Starbuck's Avanti Wine Cooler Build



## Habano (Jul 5, 2010)

After weeks and weeks of searching for a large capacity (28+ bottle) wine cooler that was based on thermalelectric, I found what I was looking for and pulled the trigger.

This model was actually discontinued last year as they made some small modifications to the cooler, changed the shelves from metal racks to wooden, and they dropped the thermalelectric and went to a compressor based model. Though the racks are metal, doesn't matter to me as custom cedar shelves and drawers will be made for the cooler. And I was lucky enough to grab the thermalelectric cooling unit as they upgraded to the compressor based. After numerous calls to reps and dealers for Avanti, I was able to track one down in a warehouse for $200 shipped. When the model was still for sale, it was selling for $450+ shipping. For the size and type of cooler, I couldn't have asked for a better price.

It's a dual cooling unit and temp settings go up to 65 degrees, which is perfect. I will not have to run the unit much as it stays around 68 degrees in my house year round. I have a 16 bottle cooler now and it's always 64-66 degrees year round inside of the cooler. So I will have a good idea of what to expect for temps with this unit after using my smaller one for 8+ months.

The top portion of the unit will have drawers built to hold single sticks. The lower portion of the unit will have cedar shelves built to hold all of my box cigars for long term storage and aging. At the very bottom there will be a tray to hold roughly 2-3lbs of beads to keep the RH in the 62-65% range. More to come as I start to work on this project.

I will also be installing two NIST Certified Hygrometers, one for the top, and one for the bottom to monitor temp and RH readings which will also track and monitor any large swings for both readings.

More to come and hopefully I will create a build thread once I receive the unit next week.

Avanti 40 Bottle Wine Cooler


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## Mr.Friday (Nov 2, 2010)

What a steal. That looks like a sweet setup. Good luck with the build.

Semper Fi,
Mr.Friday


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## Dr BootyGrabber (Feb 11, 2011)

Can you share link of place that has them for sale?


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## Zfog (Oct 16, 2010)

Good stuff David, Wino's are key! Have fun with it!


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## Habano (Jul 5, 2010)

Dr BootyGrabber said:


> Can you share link of place that has them for sale?


Doc there was no link to the wine cooler. There were a few places on line that sold this model, but it was discontinued in August of last year as they changed the racks from metal to wood, and replaced the cooling unit from thermalelectric to a compressor. No one online has this model for sale anymore as they are selling the newer model for $500.

I had to get creative knowing this was a 40 bottle cooler, which is the size I needed, and the fact it was still based on thermalelectric cooling. I called Avanti directly who then put me in touch with some local dealers. I told them what I was looking for and that it was going to be pure luck to find one. At first the dealer did not have any within 200 miles of me. A week went buy, another dealer calls me back from Avanti and says you are in luck as I've found one in a warehouse out west still in the box. Then we started working on the price for it. Since it was discontinued, I wasn't going to pay retail for it. I finally managed to talk him down to $200 with free ship as I said it's not going to go anywhere, so you might as well sell it to move it out. He agreed and now it's on the way to my house.

My advice, if you really want this model, go to Avanti's website, call their 800 number and ask them for a name and number to a rep that works your area. Tell them what you are looking for and see if they can locate one for you. Like I said, I got VERY lucky to land the one I did. This is the perfect wine cooler for me as I needed one that was at least 32+ bottles, but also wanted it to be thermalelectric. Almost anything over 28 bottles now use the compressor based cooling as it can cool the wine cooler much faster than the thermalelectric. The bigger the space inside, the more it takes to cool the unit.


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## jimbo1 (Aug 18, 2010)

Nice find, way to be patient and get what you wanted, enjoy the build, one question-doesn't the split have the top colder than the bottom (one for red the other for whites) or can you set both temps.?


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## Habano (Jul 5, 2010)

jimbo1 said:


> Nice find, way to be patient and get what you wanted, enjoy the build, one question-doesn't the split have the top colder than the bottom (one for red the other for whites) or can you set both temps.?


It's a dual zone cooler where it has temp settings for both areas, top and bottom. Max highest temp is 65 degrees. However, I have a smaller cooler I've been using now and I've rarely had to turn the unit one. Maybe a couple of times in the summer to cool it, but 99.9% of the time, it's been staying right around 65 degrees inside of my smaller one. During the summer I've seen it hit as high as 68 degrees, and the winter as low as 62 degrees, which are all perfectly fine. So really I prob won't have to turn on the unit much at all regardless.


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## CaptainBlenderman (Sep 3, 2010)

That's a beautiful thing, David. Sounds like it will be a sweet setup. Definitely post build pics. I'm thinking this is going to be the best route for me to go if I can ever justify the expense. The wild shifts in temps and humidity from season to season here in Michigan calls for something to give some stability that a desktop humidor just can't.


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## ShawnBC (Feb 28, 2011)

Be sure to post pictures in the humi thread when it's done!


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## maxwell62 (Sep 12, 2010)

Certainly looks as if it was well worth the waiting and searching to land that beauty.arty::banana:


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## Habano (Jul 5, 2010)

Well gents after finally fighting with Fedex to get this sucker delivered, it is here. Below are some shots I took where it will sit while I working in getting the unit setup and ready to go.

It was hard to get a shot with the door closed as it has a mirror finish on it.










With the racks in it, which will be removed for drawers and shelves in weeks to come.










Racks removed to get an idea how big the inside of the cooler is.










Control unit for top and bottom zones of the cooler. Both upper and lower sections of the cooler have a bluish LED light installed.










Closeup of the upper part of the cooler where drawers will go to house my single cigars.










Bottom part of the cooler where cedar shelves will go to store all boxes.










Total cubic space inside the cooler is just a tad over 4 feet.

More pics to come as I am in the process of removing the odor from the cooler, though there really isn't much, but I am taking every precaution I possibly can.


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## ZeeKodadi (Feb 20, 2011)

Man that looks sweet im sure you will injoy it let us know how it turns out


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## Habano (Jul 5, 2010)

Ok so the cooler has arrived, first step is to get ride of the plastic odor, what little there is, from inside of the cooler. I've read these little charcoal/carbon bags do wonders to remove and smells or odor from a cooler. Picked up a three pack to place randomly inside of the cooler. More pics below....










Pretty simple stuff...just a close up shot of the carbon bags.










As you can see I've placed one at the top, middle, and bottom of the cooler. Will let them sit for roughly 24 hours. I believe 2-4 hours is all that's needed, but no rush so will let them sit for a day and then check back to see how the inside smells.


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## Habano (Jul 5, 2010)

Well all know how well kitty litter works and many thanks for Tony with the support and answering all question in the kitty litter thread. I will give this a shot once the odor has been removed. I will start with two pounds and add accordingly.

I may also mix it up with a pound of Heartfelt beads at 60% since as there will be mostly cubans in this cooler. Although I do need to find a little tray to put the crystals on. Will try and find one tomorrow. Looking for something like a little glass plate you would find inside a microwave. Something like that would work well as it has a lot of space for the crystals to spread out.


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## EricF (May 25, 2010)

David, that looks sweet! Keep us posted as you progress with it!!


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## Habano (Jul 5, 2010)

At this point about the only I am missing is a hygrometer. Well as I said earlier I was going to go with a NIST certified hygrometer as I wanted the most accurate readings inside the cooler. I've purchased two to place one at the top, and one at the bottom to ensure I am holding at roughly 65/65 throughout the cooler.

My choice, two VWR NIST Certified Traceable hygrometer with temperature readings as well.










I thought, let's get a preliminary reading inside the cooler with it off. As I know I've rarely had to run my smaller cooler as it seems to sit at 65 degrees all the time. I went ahead and stuck these inside while the odor bags are working to get an idea what kind of inside temps we would see after 24 hours. Not too worried about the RH at this point since the odor bags are inside and probably suck any humidty that is inside the cooler. We'll worry about the RH in a few days. For now, let's just focus on getting the smell out.










That's it for now. Door is shut and will leave it that way till tomorrow evening when I check the for the odor. Will check the temperature readings throughout the evening and see how well it's holding in both upper and lower portions of the cooler. More updates to follow.


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## Athion (Jul 17, 2010)

Very nice Setup man  looking forward to seeing what all you do with it  

Oh, link for the Hygros? those are really nice looking


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## Habano (Jul 5, 2010)

Athion said:


> Very nice Setup man  looking forward to seeing what all you do with it
> 
> Oh, link for the Hygros? those are really nice looking


Thank you Mike!

Link to Hygrometers

I loved them when I found them on the web and when I got them today, they were even nicer than I had expected them to be. Very happy with them.


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## Mr_Black (Dec 1, 2010)

Wow David! That is a sweet setup that you are assembleing!! I am not sure if you have had a chance to see what mine finished up like, but here is the link back to the thread. I am so excited to have it up and running!! I am thinking that maybe tonight is the night that I finish it with drawer knobs, and a K/L setup. Though the Aqua Gems are holding a great rh level for now. I can not wait to stock it up!!

I will be keeping a close eye on your build!


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## TonyBrooklyn (Jan 28, 2010)

Very nice David glad you found the cooler you wanted.
You look like you got everything in order.
Can't wait to see the finished product!
:high5::high5::high5::high5::high5:


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## Habano (Jul 5, 2010)

Thanks Steve and Tony. Def an exciting time with the wine cooler being converted. I checked this morning for any odors and could notice a BIG difference. A lot of the plastic smell had been removed. I'd say by now it's good to go, but I've got a date with the TV to watch my Dookies kick some Tar Heel butt! LOL.


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## [email protected] (Feb 16, 2011)

Amazing! I have one question though as I am looking into getting a wine cooler. What is the difference between the thermoelectric and the compressor based cooling? and what are the different effects it has on the cigars?


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## Mr_Black (Dec 1, 2010)

[email protected] said:


> Amazing! I have one question though as I am looking into getting a wine cooler. What is the difference between the thermoelectric and the compressor based cooling? and what are the different effects it has on the cigars?


I know that for wine collectors the thermoelectric produces zero vibrations. That is important because it will not stir up the wines. But for cigars I am not sure what the benefit is.

If you looking for a 12 bottle this is the one that I got. I was a refurb and had a small dent on the side, but it works perfect! I can live with the little dent for the $30 + that I saved!!


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## [email protected] (Feb 16, 2011)

Mr_Black said:


> I know that for wine collectors the thermoelectric produces zero vibrations. That is important because it will not stir up the wines. But for cigars I am not sure what the benefit is.
> 
> If you looking for a 12 bottle this is the one that I got. I was a refurb and had a small dent on the side, but it works perfect! I can live with the little dent for the $30 + that I saved!!


How many cigars does it generally hold? its pretty inexpensive by itself!


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## Mr_Black (Dec 1, 2010)

[email protected] said:


> How many cigars does it generally hold? its pretty inexpensive by itself!


Not to sure, havent stocked it up yet, but if I were to guess, I would say 300ish???


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## [email protected] (Feb 16, 2011)

Mr_Black said:


> Not to sure, havent stocked it up yet, but if I were to guess, I would say 300ish???


Thats pretty good, I might invest in one of these. you know as well as I do that these are almost a necessity here in Florida!


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## Mr_Black (Dec 1, 2010)

[email protected] said:


> Thats pretty good, I might invest in one of these. you know as well as I do that these are almost a necessity here in Florida!


absolutely! If you get one let me know and I can give you dimensions for the drawers and detailed pics so you can build them!


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## [email protected] (Feb 16, 2011)

Mr_Black said:


> absolutely! If you get one let me know and I can give you dimensions for the drawers and detailed pics so you can build them!


Awesome thanks that would be great!


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## Athion (Jul 17, 2010)

[email protected] said:


> Amazing! I have one question though as I am looking into getting a wine cooler. What is the difference between the thermoelectric and the compressor based cooling? and what are the different effects it has on the cigars?


Compressor based systems will rip the humidity out of your air, making it hard to maintain the environment to want... You don't have to worry about that with thermoelectric.


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## Habano (Jul 5, 2010)

[email protected] said:


> Amazing! I have one question though as I am looking into getting a wine cooler. What is the difference between the thermoelectric and the compressor based cooling? and what are the different effects it has on the cigars?


I think Mike pretty much just nailed it on the head with your question. Compressor based coolers are known to absorb any and all humidity inside the cooler, thus making it very hard to maintain a 65-70% RH. Not only do they remove the RH you are trying to keep in, but cause huge swings when the compressor is on to cool the unit. Thermalelectric on the other hand does not, which is why so many members here on Puff recommend it over the compressor based models. While I don't have the exact facts in front of me, would have to dig them up, but if your looking to convert a wine cooler to a humidor, avoid compressor based models at all costs. Thermalelectric is the way to go as it's been proven time after time to work very well when trying to maintain a certain level of RH.

If you still want to know more about the compressor vs. thermalelectric, let me know and I will see what I can find for you from my notes when doing my research.


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## Habano (Jul 5, 2010)

After a little over a day of letting the AquaClear Carbon bags sit in the cooler, I'm still smelling a little bit of the plastic. So I head to another local pet store in hopes of finding what I had orginally planned to pick up, however my local PetSmart did not have it in stock. Low and behold the mom and pop shop had exactly what I wanted. Roughly two pounds of the Marinetime Black Diamond Media. This is the real deal stuff when wanting to remove odor from anything in a closed area.










I decided to split up the jug of the activated carbon crystals into three portions. You can put them in anything you have laying around the house. Cigar boxes would work, tupperware containers as well, but I just found that a paper plate works just as easy and saves me time from cleaning any containers. You can see I've put one on the bottom, middle, and top. I'll let these sit over night and will check once I get home from the office. If the odor is gone, then we'll proceed with putting in kitty litter to get our humidity up to 65%.










I also wanted to mention it's worth picking up a little spray bottle for the kitty litter and/or beads for the wine cooler. I found this one today for .99cents at Wal-Mart. It's an 8oz bottle, which I am sure will hold more than I'll ever need. Since we don't want to pour the water onto the beads, I've found this will work very well to wet down the kitty litter and/or beads that we will be using inside of the cooler. And of course as always, we should be using nothing but distilled water to spray down the kitty litter and beads.

Another quick idea, rinse out the spray bottle, if you buy one, with distilled water to remove any particles that may be inside the bottle, tube, and spray. I also filled it up part of the way and sprayed the bottle a few times with distilled water. Partly to set the adjustment on the spray so it's not a stream, but like a soft mist when the water comes out and hits the kitty litter and beads.










Hopefully tomorrow night we will be ready for the kitty litter as well as marking down the measurements for the custom drawers and cedar shelves I am having made for the wine cooler. I want to go ahead and get the measurements before I start adding the kitty litter and cigars to the wine cooler. The top portion of the cooler will have two drawers I believe, not sure if it will be singles or doubles, will know more once I measure for all my single sticks. And of course the bottom will have two cedar shelves for boxes.


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## jbrown287 (Aug 18, 2010)

I have a bottle about that same size also, except mine looks like a seashell. I filled it in Sept and it's still 3/4 of the way full.


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## Habano (Jul 5, 2010)

jbrown287 said:


> I have a bottle about that same size also, except mine looks like a seashell. I filled it in Sept and it's still 3/4 of the way full.


Yep anything will work. You could probably even take a hair spray bottle, rinse it out really good of course, and it would work as well as anything you could buy. I figured for .99 this would be perfect to have sitting by the cooler and spray down if and when needed.


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## jbrown287 (Aug 18, 2010)

Starbuck said:


> Yep anything will work. You could probably even take a hair spray bottle, rinse it out really good of course, and it would work as well as anything you could buy. I figured for .99 this would be perfect to have sitting by the cooler and spray down if and when needed.


Everyone in my house knows you don't mess with the blue seashell in the office :happy:


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## TonyBrooklyn (Jan 28, 2010)

What i like about that cooler is the 3 fans. Also its divided so you could set up two levels. Different R/h for cigars that smoke better at higher or lower R/H. Nice job David!!!!!!!!!!:yo:


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## Habano (Jul 5, 2010)

TonyBrooklyn said:


> What i like about that cooler is the 3 fans. Also its divided so you could set up two levels. Different R/h for cigars that smoke better at higher or lower R/H. Nice job David!!!!!!!!!!:yo:


Thank you professor. Yes the three fans caught my eye as well. Technically I could set the lower level of the cooler for say 60 degrees and keep the RH around 60-62 for aging purposes. Then for the upper level, I will have two drawers where I can put packets of beads or Heartfelt tubes of 65%. Then set the temp for 65 degrees since the cigars on the upper level will be ones I am currently smoking. Of course temps and RH could be adjust accordingly as needed.


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## zeebra (Mar 26, 2010)

That is just great what you are doing and providing all this info! I was just thinking about a wine-a-dor, and was reading some threads and came up on this one. Tons of info in here. I'm just too damn dumb to do what you are doing! I will definitely be watching the updates you put in here, its very interesting! 

Good luck with the process David! Let me know when you want to make one for me...:yo:


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## Habano (Jul 5, 2010)

zeebra said:


> That is just great what you are doing and providing all this info! I was just thinking about a wine-a-dor, and was reading some threads and came up on this one. Tons of info in here. I'm just too damn dumb to do what you are doing! I will definitely be watching the updates you put in here, its very interesting!
> 
> Good luck with the process David! Let me know when you want to make one for me...:yo:


Thanks Shawn. It's a fairly easy project to tackle, I've got faith you can do it my friend. I'm just trying to be as detailed as I can so when others decide to take the plunge, they can use this as a reference. You know if you ever have any questions, you can shoot me an email or text me bro.

The process is going well. Though taking a little longer to remove the plastic smell than I had thought. The carbon crystals are working, but since the cooler is a pretty good size it's taking a day or two longer. Although I did stick some crumpled up newspaper inside of the cooler last night to see if that would help, and this morning I could not smell any plastic at all. Will remove the carbon and newspaper tonight, measure for the shelves and drawers, then let it sit over night and check tomorrow morning for any plastic smell. If I don't smell anything, then I'll proceed with putting in the beads to get the RH up to 65%.


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## Mr_Black (Dec 1, 2010)

Starbuck said:


> Thanks Shawn. It's a fairly easy project to tackle, I've got faith you can do it my friend. I'm just trying to be as detailed as I can so when others decide to take the plunge, they can use this as a reference. You know if you ever have any questions, you can shoot me an email or text me bro.
> 
> The process is going well. Though taking a little longer to remove the plastic smell than I had thought. The carbon crystals are working, but since the cooler is a pretty good size it's taking a day or two longer. Although I did stick some crumpled up newspaper inside of the cooler last night to see if that would help, and this morning I could not smell any plastic at all. Will remove the carbon and newspaper tonight, measure for the shelves and drawers, then let it sit over night and check tomorrow morning for any plastic smell. If I don't smell anything, then I'll proceed with putting in the beads to get the RH up to 65%.


Sounds like its coming along great!! I keep saying anytime now and I will stock mine up, but I am taking more and more readings and it is finally leveled out. Im getting 67% on the bottom, and 65% on the top. If it is like that when I get home tonight then I will spend my evening stocking and arranging. I guess my question is do I take them all out of the cellophane or leave them... Hmm got any insight to that??


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## Habano (Jul 5, 2010)

Mr_Black said:


> Sounds like its coming along great!! I keep saying anytime now and I will stock mine up, but I am taking more and more readings and it is finally leveled out. Im getting 67% on the bottom, and 65% on the top. If it is like that when I get home tonight then I will spend my evening stocking and arranging. I guess my question is do I take them all out of the cellophane or leave them... Hmm got any insight to that??


If your reading 65 and 67% RH on the top and bottom, your good to go. I am sure it will level out even more when you start putting in cigars and/or boxes depending on what your plans are for the cooler.

As for the cellophane, great question and it's one that is really a personal preference to be honest. I don't think your going to see any difference if you took them out of the cellophane or left them in. If it were me, I'd just leave them in the cellophane for added protection of the cigar such as wrapper and construction. Either way enjoy stocking your cooler tonight!


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## Mr_Black (Dec 1, 2010)

Starbuck said:


> If your reading 65 and 67% RH on the top and bottom, your good to go. I am sure it will level out even more when you start putting in cigars and/or boxes depending on what your plans are for the cooler.
> 
> As for the cellophane, great question and it's one that is really a personal preference to be honest. I don't think your going to see any difference if you took them out of the cellophane or left them in. If it were me, I'd just leave them in the cellophane for added protection of the cigar such as wrapper and construction. Either way enjoy stocking your cooler tonight!


Awesome!! Thanks for the reassurance on the rh stabilization! I have been nervous, but it hasnt been lower than 63% and I sprayed the kl and it went back to 65% - 67% so I am sure its safe. You make a great point about the cellophane being like a extra layer of skin, if you would. I am going to leave them the way they are!

I will certainly enjoy stocking it up! I will post some pics too!

Thanks again David!


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## Bleedingme (Jan 14, 2011)

AWESOME Winador David! Seems like you've done your homework on this! I purchased an 18 bottle Edgestar $96(scratch and dent; will be hidden so no problem for me) a couple of days ago. 

On the Edgestar the upper compartment and lower compartment max temps are 54* and 64*

On the Avanti the upper compartment and lower compartment max temps are 51* and 64*

Do you think the upper compartment is going to be too cold for cigars? What RH are you planning to keep your top compartment at?

I'll be following this thread very closely seeing as I have the SUPER mini poor mans' version of your Winador. lol


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## Habano (Jul 5, 2010)

Bleedingme said:


> AWESOME Winador David! Seems like you've done your homework on this! I purchased an 18 bottle Edgestar $96(scratch and dent; will be hidden so no problem for me) a couple of days ago.
> 
> On the Edgestar the upper compartment and lower compartment max temps are 54* and 64*
> 
> ...


HJ what you can do is kick the wine cooler on for a few mins to cool it down. To be honest, my wine cooler will run about 5% of the time since it will be stored inside near my office at room temperature. I usually keep my house around 68-70 degrees inside. I can generally keep a wine cooler inside my house at room temperature and inside the cooler it stays roughly 63-67 degrees depending on the time of the year. If I see the temps start to get a little too high, I'll kick it on for a little bit, set the temps to 62 degrees to cool it down and then turn it off. Inside the cooler should keep it around 65 degrees for quite some time, granted you do not open the door. Point is, if your keeping your cooler inside, where's its temperature controlled, such as your house, you won't have to worry a lot about the temps and you'll be worrying more about the RH% overall.

If your anal like me, you could get an external temperature control unit. Meaning when the cooler reaches a certain degree, say 68 degrees, the unit will kick on and cool it to the settings you have set on the control unit. Then once it's cool, it will kick back off till the alarms go off again and it needs to kick back on to cool again. Below is the device I'm talking about.

ETC Supply

There is a good chance I could pick one up, but I've been monitoring my smaller wine cooler for a year being stored at room temps, and I've never seen it go below 63 degrees, and higher than 68 degrees. Every once in awhile I'll turn it on during the summer to "cool" the inside down, but not very often. So I'm hoping I can get away with it in my new cooler, but if not, then I'll be buying the item above so that way when my cooler reaches a certain temperature, it will kick on and cool it down for me. Good luck with your project and if you have any questions at all, just ask. A lot of guys here are good with the wine coolers and can answer any of your questions. It's all new to me, but I've tried to do as much homework as I can before I got started.

As for the RH in my unit, the top compartment I will try and keep around 65%. If it goes up or down 1-2% that is fine with me. As for the bottom, I am going to try and keep it around 60-62% as this area will be mostly for aging purposes and will contain full boxes.


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## Habano (Jul 5, 2010)

An update for tonight. After coming home last night I was still getting a little bit of the "plastic" smell inside the cooler. I decided to throw in some newspaper along with the carbon to speed up and finalize this part of the project. After 24 hours with the door shut with newspaper and carbon, the plastic smell was completely gone. I took everything out, let it sit for about two hours with the door closed, opened it up, and sure enough the smell was gone. Now I won't have to worry at all about my cigars smelling or tasting like plastic...lol.

Quick shot of the carbon crystals and newspaper.


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## Habano (Jul 5, 2010)

Next we are ready to go on the humidity testing. Though I still need to get some measurements for the drawers and shelves inside, I wanted to do a test run of the kitty litter and to see how well the unit holds the RH. I've got a big plate covered with kitty litter for the lower section of the unit and a smaller plate for the upper section of the unit. Although I'm using a sushi serving tray and sushi plate to conduct the test until I find a larger item to store the kitty litter for the bottom section of the cooler. I think I found something that will work well at Pier One, will stop and get it in the next couple of days, but for now, my sushi trays will work since this is just a test.

Clear shot the kitty litter, distilled water, and spray bottle. I sprayed each plate with kitty litter about 10 times and will monitor the RH levels over the next 12-24 hours to see where they stabilize at.


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## kapathy (Nov 20, 2010)

what hygro's are those?


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## Habano (Jul 5, 2010)

Here are the preliminary readings of the hygrometers before putting in the kitty litter. I want to say I am very impressed with these hygrometers. They are both spot on and I did test both of them with Boveda packets. By far the nicest hygrometers I've seen.

Top portion of the unit reading 49.1% RH and 70.7 degrees temperature.










Bottom hygrometer is reading 46.1% RH and is also showing 70.7 degrees as well.


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## Habano (Jul 5, 2010)

Kitty litter has been placed inside of the cooler at top and bottom sections of the cooler, hygrometers put inside as well. Mark the time at 10:30pm, will check the readings at 6:30am tomorrow, and then again tomorrow night at 10:30pm to see what kind of RH we are getting after 24 hours.



















I will update and post the RH readings tomorrow night.


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## Habano (Jul 5, 2010)

kapathy said:


> what hygro's are those?


Kevin these are NIST certified hygrometers. These are actually lab grade quality hygrometers. You can find them at the link below and they will run about $55-60 for one hygrometer. A wise investment to get accurate readings on the humidity inside of any cooler or humidor. This is one area I did not want to cut any corners on as I wanted the most accurate reading possible.

VWR NIST Certified Hygrometer/Thermometer

Both hygrometers have been tested with Boveda packets and they were dead on.


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## kapathy (Nov 20, 2010)

specs on that are way overkill (size wise) for my current humis (150 & 75 ) but ive been severly disappointed with the xicars ones ive purchased...... your setup looks simply amazing great build so far


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## Herf N Turf (Dec 31, 2008)

Starbuck said:


> Kevin these are NIST certified hygrometers. These are actually lab grade quality hygrometers. You can find them at the link below and they will run about $55-60 for one hygrometer. A wise investment to get accurate readings on the humidity inside of any cooler or humidor. This is one area I did not want to cut any corners on as I wanted the most accurate reading possible.
> 
> VWR NIST Certified Hygrometer/Thermometer
> 
> Both hygrometers have been tested with Boveda packets and they were dead on.


Well done, David.

But, not so much as an "honorable mention"? :doh:

:dunno: Me wonders, where in the WORLD, would you have *got *such an idea?

Either way, nice build, brother!


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## Habano (Jul 5, 2010)

At 6:30am this morning I took a quick reading of the hygrometers. Quite pleased as to what I am seeing. Both hygrometers were reading 54.9% RH and temps have dropped to 68.4 and 68.7. Humidity is rising steadily, but the amount of air we are trying to control is rather quite large so it will take some temp to reach the levels we would like. I went ahead and sprayed both trays of the kitty litter roughly five times with the spray bottle to dampen the kitty litter to bring the RH% up even more. I am guessing by the time I get home tonight, we should see the humidity levels in the lower 60's which is close to where we want them. Once we reach the desired levels, we'll let the cooler sit for 24 hours watching for any sudden increasing or decreasing RH levels.


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## Bleedingme (Jan 14, 2011)

That's pretty awesome you can set both top and bottom at same temps! I'm crossing my fingers I can do the same when I get mine in tomorrow.


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## zeebra (Mar 26, 2010)

Herf N Turf said:


> Well done, David.
> 
> But, not so much as an "honorable mention"? :doh:
> 
> ...


What ya mean by this? Just curious.

Well done David!! I'm still debating on which way to go. Cant wait to see this thing filled up!!


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## Bleedingme (Jan 14, 2011)

zeebra said:


> What ya mean by this? Just curious.
> 
> Well done David!! I'm still debating on which way to go. Cant wait to see this thing filled up!!


Herf is the anti-cheap hygrometer captain. Preaches to go NIST or go home! I agree NIST is so much more accurate.


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## Mr.Friday (Nov 2, 2010)

Keeping my eye on this thread. You know Starbuck is gonna do it big. Good luck on the build and thanks for the updates.

Semper Fi
Mr. Friday


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## swingerofbirches (Jan 12, 2010)

Dang David, you've been busy. 
Looking good ... now you'll only need to set up another 786,458,319,189,158.25 more of these wine-a-dors and your whole CC stash will be covered.


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## Bleedingme (Jan 14, 2011)

*Anxiously awaiting an update*


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## Habano (Jul 5, 2010)

Thank you all for the kind words and I appreciate those that are following the thread. The whole idea of this thread is for members looking to convert wine coolers and be able to use this tread as a reference and to address any questions they may have during or before the process. I'm trying to be as detailed as possible and not skip any important parts of the build to keep it as accurate as possible.

A quick note, I want to say that once the project is complete, with drawers, shelves, Accumonitor, drain tube, and etc, I will be posting a credits page to thank those that have made this idea and project possible, and for taking the time to give me their sound advice as well.


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## swingerofbirches (Jan 12, 2010)

Just let me know if you need someone to work the weekend security shift ... i'll happily guard the wine-a-dor for the right price.


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## Habano (Jul 5, 2010)

I apologize for the lack of updates the last 24-48 hours. I've been very busy with work and daily routines throughout the week. I also wanted to give the wine cooler time to sit with the kitty litter and to give the humidity time to settle and level off with an accurate reading. The wine cooler has been sitting for roughly 48 hours untouched and turned off with kitty litter at lower and upper levels.

Also sorry for no pics tonight as I wanted to keep the door closed to avoid any sudden changes in temps and RH for the readings below.

This evening I wanted to get some readings as to what the wine cooler was sitting at in room temperature with kitty litter. What kind of temperature and RH are we seeing after sitting for a couple of days? Readings below.

*48 hours @ Room Temperature (Off)*

Upper Hygrometer: 63.7% RH / 69.6 Temp
Lower Hygrometer: 61.3% RN / 69.6 Temp

Based on what I am seeing I was quite pleased with the overall RH for the unit. Granted I didn't have a lot of kitty litter in the upper level. Mainly because this area will have drawers and will more than likely have 65% Heartfelt tubes in each drawer which will make it easier to keep the upper level at +/-65%.

As for the second level, exactly the type of RH I'm looking for as this area will be used for boxes and aging sticks. My goal is to keep the lower level in the 60-63% range for the humidity.

Now, what happens when the cooler is turned on? What kind of RH swings are we going to see? Excellent question and one I asked myself tonight. So why not kick the cooler on, let it cool down to say 63 degrees and then kick it off. The key here is to watch the swings in the RH while the cooler is on and running. Next, once we reach the desired temperature of 63 degrees, how long does it take for the cooler to reach our humidity levels we are looking for? Stats below.

*Cooler (On) Till Temps Read 63 Degrees* (>10 mins)

Upper Hygrometer: 56.7% RH / 62.8 Temp
Lower Hygrometer: 53.7% RN / 64.5 Temp

The whole process to reach the temps above took roughly 10 minutes for the unit to cool. You ask why is the lower level still at 64.5 degrees? Remember, the lower level is a much larger space to cool, therefore it's going to take a little extra time for the lower level to cool rather than the smaller area at the top. So keep this in mind, though I doubt many will be converting dual zone coolers, so this info may be irrelevant to your wine cooler build.

When the cooler is kicked on, we see a pretty big swing in overall RH for top and bottom. This is ok, but what happens to the RH levels now when the cooler is turned off? How long does it take to get the RH back up to desired levels? Not as long as I thought it would.

*Readings 10 mins Cooler Off*

Upper Hygrometer: 65.8% RH / 63.2 Temp
Lower Hygrometer: 61% RN / 65.1 Temp

Within a matter of minutes the wine cooler is back up to desired levels of RH. Literally after 10 mins of the cooler being turned off to bring the temps back down, the RH is back in the ranges of our goal for upper and lower levels. Very nice!

It looks likes we are just about ready to throw some boxes in the bottom section of our wine cooler. Will more than likely be leaving the upper section alone till I have the drawers built. As for the bottom, I'll just use the metal wire racks till the shelves are built as well. Even though the wine cooler is not 100% complete, I can at least go ahead and use the lower level to store boxes. Although much is to be done before this project has been completed.

Some items to be completed.....

1. Drain tube to kitty litter/beads
2. Bead tray (looking for a plate, like out of a microwave, but have considered building a spanish cedar tray for the bottom area to hold all of the kitty litter/beads)
3. Measure for shelves and drawers
4. Possible Accumonitor install? (may wait till cooler is complete and add if needed)
5. Fans (portable fans or added fans on the Accumonitor, yet to decide)
6. External Control Unit (Temperature)


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## Habano (Jul 5, 2010)

swingerofbirches said:


> Just let me know if you need someone to work the weekend security shift ... i'll happily guard the wine-a-dor for the right price.


LOL. Why do I get the feeling that when I got home, it would be empty except for one or two Swisher Sweets?

:smoke2:


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## swingerofbirches (Jan 12, 2010)

Starbuck said:


> LOL. Why do I get the feeling that when I got home, it would be empty except for one or two Swisher Sweets?
> 
> :smoke2:


Perhaps because you're a man who believes in karma.  LOL

He who gives Swishers is sure to get Swishers.


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## Habano (Jul 5, 2010)

Afternoon gents...a couple of quick updates for today.

1. Our good friend Ed at Waxingmoon has agreed to build me a custom spanish cedar tray for the bottom of the wine cooler to hold the 2-3 lbs of beads. I thought why not go ahead and see if Ed would be able to build a cedar tray that would fit the entire bottom of the wine cooler to fill up with beads? Rather than using a plate or tray, I thought this would be a better idea. Below are specs of the cedar tray.










2. This morning I ordered the Ranco ETC-111000 -000 Prewired Digital Temperature Control Unit. I didn't feel like taking the extra time to do the wiring, plus I'm not good with electric stuff, so I opted for the prewired unit. This will be mounted to the back of the wine cooler. A tiny hole will be drilled into the cooler to feed the sensor for the control unit and then sealed in the back where the wire feeds through to keep from air and humidity escaping the cooler. The control unit will be a vital component to ensure the cooler is staying in the 65 degree range or slightly lower.

Link to Ranco Prewired Temperature Control Unit










Tomorrow I will more than likely be ordering the Accumonitor 5 10 with optional fan timer and three additional fans to help distribute the humidity throughout the wine cooler. The device will take about a week to build and then a few days to receive in the mail. Hopefully by the time it arrives, I can have the Temperature Control unit installed and operational.


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## Mr_Black (Dec 1, 2010)

Wow brother! You are really going for it! This will be an epic Wineador!! Love the updates, keep them coming!


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## TonyBrooklyn (Jan 28, 2010)

"The whole process to reach the temps above took roughly 10 minutes for the unit to cool. You ask why is the lower level still at 64.5 degrees? Remember, the lower level is a much larger space to cool, therefore it's going to take a little extra time for the lower level to cool rather than the smaller area at the top. So keep this in mind, though I doubt many will be converting dual zone coolers, so this info may be irrelevant to your wine cooler build."

One level is meant to be cooler than the other. Its a dual zone for storing Red and White wines respectively. That's why 2 fans on top hence more cooling.


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## Habano (Jul 5, 2010)

TonyBrooklyn said:


> _"The whole process to reach the temps above took roughly 10 minutes for the unit to cool. You ask why is the lower level still at 64.5 degrees? Remember, the lower level is a much larger space to cool, therefore it's going to take a little extra time for the lower level to cool rather than the smaller area at the top. So keep this in mind, though I doubt many will be converting dual zone coolers, so this info may be irrelevant to your wine cooler build."_
> 
> One level is meant to be cooler than the other. Its a dual zone for storing Red and White wines respectively. That's why 2 fans on top hence more cooling.


Tony you are correct. So to fix this minor issue, I pulled out the circuit board over the weekend and disabled one of the cooling units and fans in the upper level. Put it all back together, tested my theory and man it worked perfectly! So rather two cooling units and fans running in the upper level, there is just one running.

When the unit kicks on now, the entire unit is cooling down at the same rate at the same time.


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## TonyBrooklyn (Jan 28, 2010)

Starbuck said:


> Tony you are correct. So to fix this minor issue, I pulled out the circuit board over the weekend and disabled one of the cooling units and fans in the upper level. Put it all back together, tested my theory and man it worked perfectly! So rather two cooling units and fans running in the upper level, there is just one running.
> 
> When the unit kicks on now, the entire unit is cooling down at the same rate at the same time.


Very good idea David i always knew you were a smart kid. I don't mean to offend by calling you kid your a Man. Its just your so much younger than me!


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## Habano (Jul 5, 2010)

TonyBrooklyn said:


> Very good idea David i always knew you were a smart kid. I don't mean to offend by calling you kid your a Man. Its just your so much younger than me!


Haha no offense taken Tony as I knew what you meant. However, thank you for the kind compliment!

Ed's starting the bead tray as we speaks and says it's should be complete by the end of the week. Hopefully it should arrive at the end of next week. Will snap some pics once I get it.

Ranco Temp Control Unit has shipped and should be here by the end of this week. Will get it installed and tested this weekend.


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## zeebra (Mar 26, 2010)

Great updates and all David! I cant wait to see this beauty filled!! Again, excellent work man, this is very informative for anyone trying to do this! Tons of info here and all the other threads everyone has posted here at Puff!!!


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## 96p993 (Dec 30, 2010)

Great build David...Im working on my Edgestar while Ed is working on my drawers and trays. Im wondering about the additional fans you are wanting to use. I have not run much testing since installing my Ranco (great device by the way) but Im not big on putting anything in the unit that isnt needed. From your test it looks as though both top and bottom get all the RH needed to keep things good, Im just wondering why you think you need the additional fans. I have done quite a bit of reading, many say they are needed but many also say they arent really doing much good if you have beads in the drawers or beads top and bottom...Just trying to get thoughts


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## Habano (Jul 5, 2010)

96p993 said:


> Great build David...Im working on my Edgestar while Ed is working on my drawers and trays. Im wondering about the additional fans you are wanting to use. I have not run much testing since installing my Ranco (great device by the way) but Im not big on putting anything in the unit that isnt needed. From your test it looks as though both top and bottom get all the RH needed to keep things good, Im just wondering why you think you need the additional fans. I have done quite a bit of reading, many say they are needed but many also say they arent really doing much good if you have beads in the drawers or beads top and bottom...Just trying to get thoughts


I too agree with what you are saving about adding items to the wine cooler unless it's not needed. In this case with the additional fans, I have no real test of knowing whether or not I will need the extra fans. With the extra fans hooked up and on the timer, I will know for a fact that the humidity will be going to all areas of the wine cooler. This prevents dead or possible dry areas within the wine cooler. It probably doesn't happen often, but the last thing I want to do is find out two years down the road a box of BHK's have been sitting in a dead area where humidity is not getting to the box. Hopefully this all makes sense.

The Accumonitor 5 10 I ordered today comes with one fan to mount anywhere in the cooler, and one fan on top of the canister that will be used to hold the distilled water and disperse when needed according to the Accumonitor. I requested to have two more fans pre-wired in case I decide to use them. Now, it won't come with two additional fans, I will have to buy them and connect them to the Accumonitor if I chose to use more fans. I just wanted the option of knowing that I have two extra fan hookups if needed for the future.

Hopefully this addresses any questions you may have. Just remember, I am trying to cover every possible angle here inside the cooler and want to know I've got the humidity reaching to all parts of the cooler, and not just certain areas. Again there is no test I can do to justify the need for them. I'm just adding them as a peace of mind.


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## Habano (Jul 5, 2010)

The Ranco Digital Temperature Control unit arrived this afternoon. I've got the sensor mounted and secure inside of the wine cooler. I decided to mount it right under the divider that controls the wine cooler in the lower zone. The tip of the sensor is hanging down just a little bit, right in the center of the cooler to get an accurate temperature reading for the Ranco temperature controls. Below are some pics of the sensor and how I tucked the wires into the cooler and used black electrical tape to secure it.

I was able to tuck part of the wire behind the controls of the wine cooler, then run it up along the sides of the divider. If you look closely there is a bracket with a screw that is used to support the divider control unit. There was enough space behind the bracket for me to unscrew it, run the sensor cable behind it, and then screw it back in. From there I ran it up to the top section of the divider and used black electrical tape to hold it securely along the sides and back parts of the wall. I had to get the sensor cable wire as neat as I could on top of the divider as the first slot will be used for a double tray to hold singles.










If you remember a few posts back, I talked about disconnecting one of the fans in the upper level to keep it from cooling faster than the second level. Well turns out I was able to run the sensor cable through the vents of the fan from the back without having to drill any holes. I removed the cooling unit from the back and was able to feed the wire through the hole and then mount the cooling unit back to the cooler where it seals tight to prevent any air or humidity from leaking. It was a tight fit, but better than me drilling a hole to feed the sensor cable and trying to plug it up from air and humidity escaping from inside.










This weekend I need to mount the Ranco control unit to the back of the cooler where the circuit board and guts of the cooler sit. For not I just have it sitting on the floor with the wine cooler plugged into the Ranco control unit, and then the Ranco unit itself plugged into the wall.

As for my settings on the Ranco unit. I decided to set the control unit for 62 degrees with a differential of 5 degrees. Which means when the cooler reaches 67 degrees inside, the Ranco Temperature controls will kick the wine cooler on, cool it till the temps inside reach 62 degrees and then shut off. From there it will remain off till the temps inside reach 67 degrees again. I must say I'm very impressed with the Ranco unit as it takes the worry out of the cooler ever reaching more then 67 degrees.


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## Habano (Jul 5, 2010)

One last update for tonight. 

Ed from Waxingmoon is currently making the spanish cedar bead tray for the bottom of the cooler. According to Ed the tray should be done this weekend, shipped the first of next week. I'm hoping it will arrive by the end of the week so I can fill it up with beads and get it installed into the cooler.

I've also ordered the Accumonitor 5 10 humidity cooling unit. It's wired for one fan now, but I also had them pre-wire for two additional fans if I need them later. Will post pics when I receive the unit hopefully the end of next week as well.

Spanish cedar shelves have been ordered and should be finished this weekend as well. The cedar shelves will be nice so I can go ahead and stack some boxes in the lower level. Still working on the idea for the drawers and how I want it to go.


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## Habano (Jul 5, 2010)

More updates to follow the end of the week gents. Will be finally mounting the Ranco Temp Control Unit.

The custom bead tray for the bottom of the cooler has shipped from Ed and will be arriving the end of this week.

Custom cedar shelves from Chasidor will also be arriving at the end of this week.

Also the Accumonitor 5 10 will be shipping tomorrow and should be here by Friday or Saturday.

So a busy weekend planned for the cooler and I should have plenty of updates and pics for everyone.


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## Son Of Thor (Apr 14, 2010)

It sounds like its all coming together nicely for you David. I'm looking forward to seeing the pics of it all finished up. op2:


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## CeeGar (Feb 19, 2007)

It looks great, David. Can't wait to see it full!!! :thumb::thumb:


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## Habano (Jul 5, 2010)

Thanks guys. I'm so impressed how well the unit maintains the optimal temperature and humidity. Really the only thing left to order are the drawers, and I am still trying to make up my mind on those, so the delay is my fault, but I want to be certain. One thing I still need to do is feed a tube from the condensation tray inside of the wine cooler to the tray for the beads, but will do that next week once the bead tray has been installed and I have an idea where I need to drill to run the tube down to the tray. Although I don't expect for there to me much condensation in the wine cooler. But figured I might as well go ahead and do it before I fill it up and then see I need to do it. If all goes well and the cedar shelves make it in by Friday or Saturday, should be able to stack some boxes in the lower level.


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## Habano (Jul 5, 2010)

This afternoon a few goodies arrived in the mail to get the wine cooler ready for the next step. The custom built spanish cedar bead tray arrived from our beloved Ed at Waxingmoon. The bead tray will be used in the very bottom of the cooler to hold the kitty litter and beads for the wine cooler.

The custom built spanish cedar shelves also arrived today from Chuck at Chasidor. These shelves will be used in the lower section of the wine cooler to store boxes.

Before I started the seasoning process on the bead tray and shelves, I did a dry fit just to make sure everything fit correctly and where I had planned for them to go. Luckily my measurements were correct and everything fit perfect. Now let's start the seasoning for the tray and shelves.

Here is a close up picture of the custom spanish cedar bead tray I asked Ed from Waxingmoon to build for me. I am sure many of you will ask why is there a slot missing in the back left? This area is reserved for the canister that will hold distilled water for the Accumonitor 5 10 that should be arriving tomorrow.










The next picture below is a close up of the custom built spanish cedar shelves from Chuck at Chasidor. You will notice a notch in the back left has also been cut out for the canister on the Accumonitor. The canister is roughly four inches high, and four inches in diameter. The second shelf did not require a notch to be cut out as the canister does not go high enough to affect the second shelf in the wine cooler.


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## Habano (Jul 5, 2010)

Now that we know everything fits, next we need to wipe down the cedar to start the seasoning process for the lower section of the cooler. All we need to do is simply wipe down the inside of the bead tray and the top and bottoms of the cedar shelves. Pretty simple.

I highly recommend using a soft sponge, a new one. Not one that has been used in the sink to clean dishes or anything. Pick up a new one in a sealed bag at any store for less than a dollar. When wiping down the cedar, I suggest using distilled water to avoid any chemicals or particles in tap water that can soak into the wood. I also suggest taking the sponge and absorbing some distilled water and rinsing it out a few times.










Next, simply dampen the sponge, not need to soak it, with distilled water. We are not trying to drown the cedar with water and do not want a lot to soak into the wood. We simply want to touch the top of the surface on the wood with water to wipe down any saw dust they may have been carried in from the shop. I will say there was a little bit of dust on all of the pieces of wood, but nothing major. As you can see below I gently wiped it down and tried not to let the cedar absorb too much water.










Once the tray was wiped down, I went ahead and slide it into the bottom section of the cooler before wiping down the shelves. As you can see it fits quite nicely.










Now I did the same for both cedar shelves. I wiped both sides down and in the grooves as well. Once done, I slid both shelves into their corresponding slots. Now the seasoning process is underway. Picture below with the cedar bead tray on the bottom and both cedar shelves inserted into the bottom section of the wine cooler.










I'll monitor the humidity the next few hours and take notes. Once the inside of the bead tray is dry, I will go ahead and start filling it up with beads. From there we'll stick the beads into the cooler dry before spraying with distilled water to get a preliminary reading. Once we get an idea what the RH% is with the dry beads, we'll adjust accordingly and spray with distilled water to bring up the RH% to desired levels.


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## Habano (Jul 5, 2010)

Here kitty kitty kitty......

After about three hours the tray and shelves are 99% dry. I pulled out the bead tray and filled it up with kitty litter, the exact same kind a few pages back in this thread. With the tray and shelves inserted into the cooler, the hygrometer has been reading 62% for the past two hours.

According to scale I have roughly 2.5lbs of kitty litter in the tray. I decided to do a dry test run before spraying any distilled water on them. I'll leave the cooler sit with the dry litter for 12-24 hours to settle to get an accurate RH% reading before spraying any of the litter down with water.


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## smelvis (Sep 7, 2009)

You need another just for the Behikes don't ya  Man that's a lot of KL bro! looking good though!


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## Kypt (Mar 17, 2011)

Nice setup.


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## Mr_Black (Dec 1, 2010)

Wow David, you have out done yourself again, lol!


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## BDog (Oct 19, 2010)

Thats really turning out beautifully!

I really like the provision for the Accumonitor and that it is notched to accomodate. Really adds a custom element to this build. If I do Kitty Litter in mine (Currently Conserval Gel Beads) I think I will sift through it and remove all the blue pieces. I think that will give it a more uniform appearance much like the beads do.

Nice trays for sure! :tu:


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